Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Lungs under the Microscope

The lungs are sponge-like organs that fill the chest cavity and make up most of the lower respiratory tract. Their most important job is providing oxygen to capillaries so they can oxygenate blood. Each lung is divided into lobes. The right lung has three lobes, but the left lung only has two in order to provide room for the heart.

Together the lungs' tissue surface is almost 40 times greater than the body's outer surface, making the lungs as a whole one of the largest organs in the body.

Each lung houses a bronchial tree, which gets its name from the intricate network of air passages that supply the lungs with air. The air-filled sacs in the lungs called alveoli resemble grape clusters. Blood cells known as macrophages, located inside each alveolus, ingest and destroy airborne irritants that enter the lungs. After you exhale, the lungs stay partly inflated because of a fluid called surfactant that is produced by special cells and secreted within the alveoli. Surfactant contains fatty proteins and helps prevent lung infections.

Suffering from a respiratory disorder is one of the most common reasons for doctor visits in industrialized countries where the air is filled with chemicals, pollutants, dust, pollen, bacteria and viruses. The billions of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi in the air can enter the lungs and make respiratory infections common. Some infections, such as the common cold or sinusitis, affect the upper respiratory tract. Others, such as bronchitis and pneumonia affect the lower respiratory tract.